Evangelion, Old School
by LieutenantX
Summary: Neon Genesis Evangelion, retold circa 15XX. The conspiracy group NERV has seen an opportunity to make a stab for power, involving the summoning of the demon Evangelion, the defeat of the Angels, and the soul of a young boy.
1. Default Chapter

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Old School!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thing. I spent all my money on Pocky. Thank you.  
  
Rei Ayanami stood above the city. Her masters bid her, and she did. She raised the mask over her face and ran a finger over the hilt of her dagger, it's hilt ending in the Dragon's gaping mouth. She ran to the edge of the roof and left across the alley of Shanghai. Landing on the tile of the next roof, she looked about. Noone had seen her still. She ran farther. There. Both the guards bore flintlock rifles, a European refinement to the hand cannon she had seen on the battlefield. She could avoid them easily. She drew in for the leap across the street and performed it easily. A peddler saw the thief and ignored it. Not his problem. She dashed across the new roof, looking for a window in the building. She was attempting to infiltrate the city's largest building not included in a compound, ten levels tall. She found her window easily and listened closely to the room inside. No sound. She listened closer. No breathing, either, but it may have been hidden by the street's noise. They would all be like that, though, so she opted to use this one. She dove across the gap between the small building and the larger one, tearing the paper that closed it easily, even with her light frame. She rolled to her feet, weapon drawn. Nothing. She was on the third level. The Target was on the sixth. She listened for noises in the hallway. Footsteps... one pair... going the other direction. She opened the door silently and snuck a look. A single guard to her right, similarly armed as the two at the door, his back turned. A corner immediately to her left. The building's creator had been very superstitious and would have built it according to Feung Shui... The stairs would be to her left. She snuck past, wrapped feet silent on the wooden floor. The guard turned around.  
  
'Funny. That door wasn't open a second ago... or maybe it was. I've got to lay off that sake stuff.' The stairs where right where Feung Shui dictated. Perfect. She crept up them, stopping to listen for more footsteps. There were none. She kept moving, up the next flight of stairs and paused at the final flight. Singing. Ode to Joy. Beethoven. A guard at the top of the stairs to the sixth level. She paused to think of what to do... Hmph.  
  
Luchesi hummed to himself, thinking of home. Shanghai was nice. It was certainly more hospitable than Portugal, but... still. He was sick of rice. Sick of soup. Sick of high voices in all the women. Sick of everything. His job sucked, too. Graveyard shift. Nothing to do but stand with a gun and think of home. A thin, apperantly female hand snaked around the corner of the stairwell. 'Hey! The guys must like me more than I thought! Did they get me a woman? I'll buy drinks next time, definitely!' He crept down the stairs, a big smile on his face. He was not confronted by a hooker. A thief, but a feminine one. Very feminine.  
  
"Tch. Do you know how much you look like a woman?" Rei slit his throat with her dagger. Not understanding what he said. She didn't speak Portugese. Running up the stairs, she remembered her masters saying the Target was in a room in the center of the building under constant guard. The Jesuits said it was a holy relic, justifying the guard. Two guards, flintlock rifles. Just like outside. Probably another would come up the stairs to check on them... and would find the guard she'd killed! She'd just lost a major portion of the amount of time she had to work. Two shuriken, thrown with a flick of the wrist, embedded themselves in the guards' necks. One tried to yell 'thief'. It came out a gurgling 'thee', not loud enough to attract attention. She picked her way over the bodies and entered the room. A priest sat up in his bed, trembling. She dashed in, and grabbed the item, prominently displayed on an altar. It was... a tiny golden knife hilt? Not hers to question. The priest said something, a question. He was unarmed, but still a threat. She rendered him unconscious with a swift kick. Shouts from the level below. They'd found the first dead guard. She couldn't go down the stairs. That meant that she needed to go either up to one of the last two levels or out a window... In the hallway, a guard rounded the cornere. He shouted something that could only be 'stop'. She readied her dagger. The guard stopped. Had he seen a demon? Whatever it was, it was gonna die! He fired at the thief. The Dragon's intuition flowed through her, and Rei's arm moved of it's own will, knocking the bullet away. Another kick sent the guard's gun down the stairs. He followed soon after, bowling into his two comrades. One's rifle discharged. She dove through a window, rotating once in midair to bring her legs under her and counted the levels. One, two, three, she braced and landed on the roof of the adjecant building.  
  
"Thief!"  
  
She ran, leaving the angry Jesuits to their own alarms. Two days later she was out of Shanghai, on a boat headed to Japan, ready to rejoin her masters.  
  
Shinji Ikari wandered Japan, alone. No-one could save him. He was Ronin. He would die by the sword. He would be killed in combat, to the everlasting glory of his father, father's father, father's father's father, and so on and so forth. If humiliation didn't get him first. "Come on, you guys! Give it back!"  
  
"Aww, he wants it back!" "Over here!"  
  
"That's my sword! I need that!" "We'll trade you! Your gold for your sword!" "No way!" "C'mon, it's fair!" "No it's not!" A large, burly man with a nasty scar on his chest held the sword out of Shinji's reach. "Of course it is. Look at the quality of this guard! That's a nice guard!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
They all turned to the newcomer. Misato loomed in the doorway to the pub. "Shiji! I leave you alone for five minutes so I can get a drink and you get every moron in eight kilometers mad at you!"  
  
She stomped up to the burly man.  
  
"Give it back to him."  
  
"Sure."  
  
One of his hands caressed her shoulder. Shinji heaved a large rock. "If I can have a little taste..." His eyes went blank. Misato had kneed him in the testicles at the same moment Shinji had clubbed him on the head. He fell to the dirt. Shinji picked up his sword. His two smaller companions look at Misato, then at Shinji, then at their fallen leader. One pointed at Misato and shouted 'Demon' before they both ran away.  
  
"Men." She muttered under her breath and stomped back into the bar. Shinji looked around. The burly man was starting to recover. He froze.  
  
"Shin-JI!"  
  
"Right!" He trotted into the bar. Looking around, he decided maybe he should have stayed outside. It reeked. He stepped over a puddle of liquor and sat down across from Misato at the table.  
  
"Um, do we really have to stop here?" "Yes." Misato said and downed another shot. Shinji felt very watched.  
  
"Do we have to sleep here, too?" Misato looked around her. She was also very watched.  
  
"No." Shinji felt relieved. "When are we going to leave?"  
  
"When I say so."  
  
"Shouldn't we be going to this Big Important Council that you keep talking about?"  
  
Misato stopped.  
  
"We've got plenty of time."  
  
"You said that three weeks ago."  
  
"We've still got plenty of time. Hey, I'm not feeding you so you can bug me. Go train or something."  
  
"I was training, before they came along." Misato stopped again and sloshed around what was left of her bottle of alchohol. "Fine. We'll leave."  
  
Shinji started to stand.  
  
"After I finish this."  
  
"Um, Misato..."  
  
She chugged the last few gulps, enough alchohol to kill a normal human. Not Misato.  
  
"Okay, (hic) let's go..." They kept following the trail, entering a forest. Shinji remebered first meeting Misato, almost a month ago. She'd found him naked, tied to a tree, half dead. Someone had amused themselves at his expense. Again. He'd awaken in extreme pain, next to a warm fire. Misato was humming, and he was warm. He looked down. His genitals had been covered by a small bottle. It was labeled 'Toothpicks'. "What happened?"  
  
"Someone beat you up and stole your clothes."  
  
"Am I okay?"  
  
"If you can't tell, you probably aren't. You'll be fine." "Why did you save me?" "Because you looked so pitiful. Now, apologize for being so heavy."  
  
"S-sorry."  
  
"Good. Want something to eat?"  
  
"Put something on, first."  
  
She threw a change of clothes at him. "These are women's clothes!" "Do you feel like wearing a dress for the next few days, or the bottle?" Shinji had worn the dress. He could still hear people laughing at him when they'd gotten to the next town. Misato had stopped at the bar before she'd bought him men's clothes. He didn't want to remember that. She'd told him her name, and that she needed to go somewhere. He asked if he could go with her. She'd thought about that for a few minutes before agreeing. So, here they were, weeks later, still going towards this enigmatic Council of NERV. He was still getting beat up, and Misato was spending more money on alchohol than food. The woman was insane. But at least now he had something to look at on all those long miles. However, the first three fingers of his left hand were still sore from two and a half weeks ago, when he'd been stupid enough to try and take advantage of her. She hadn't even woken up. Not even after he screamed. Or ran around sucking on his fingers. Or after he ran into the fire and burned his feet. In the morning, she had the nerve to ask him what happened. He said he'd rolled over onto his sword amidst much blushing. His existence was just getting from town to town on their way to whatever this is.  
  
Deep within the Earth, as the two halves of the Progressive Knife grew closer together, Evangelion stirred. 


	2. Chapter 2

Guess I didn't explain why I put this in. This really should have been Asuka's theme. But...  
  
Hey Jude  
Don't make it bad  
Take a sad song,  
And make it better.  
  
Remember to let her into your heart,  
There you can start  
To make it better.  
  
Hey Jude  
Don't be afraid  
You were made to  
Go out and get her  
  
Remember to let her under your skin,  
There you'll begin  
To make it better.  
  
And every time you feel afraid  
Hey Jude refrain,  
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders  
For don't you know that it's a fool who plays it cool  
By making his world a little colder  
  
Na na na na, na na na na...  
  
Askua descended the ramp from the ship. She wore a yellow dress and a red basket over her head that hid her features. The voyage had been smelly, creaky, rainy, and full of men who now sported broken fingers. She threw her bag over her shoulder and hiked into town.  
  
Stepping into a nearby inn, she looked around her for any potential threats. Seeing none, but plenty that thought they were, she moved to a place where she could be seen by all.  
"Hey! All of you!" She yelled in heavily accented Japanese. Heads turned. She held up a drawing.  
"I will give gold to whoever can tell me where this woman is!"  
There was silence. Some men went back to their drinks.  
  
"Hey, Misato, do you know her?"  
Misato turned to look at the yelling German.  
"I can't say I do..."  
She saw the picture.  
"Shit."  
"What? What's wrong?"  
"Come on, Shinji, we've got to go."  
"Go? Go where?"  
"To the council!"  
She grabbed him by the collar and began to drag him out. In the doorway she stopped. Leaving Shinji, she ran back, grabbed her bottle, and left again.  
"C'mon! We've got to go!" She whispered, grabbing Shinji's arm.  
"Why? What's the rush now?"  
"Shut up and hurry!"  
They almost made it to the edge of town.  
"Excuse me."  
They stopped and turned around. Asuka stood in the center of the road, the wind at her back.  
"You seem to have left in a large hurry. Why?"  
Misato answered without thought.  
"We had to leave. We have to be at a meeting in a few days, and we have much distance to travel."  
"You know about her, then."  
Misato swore under her breath. The girl brandished a sheathed sword.  
"You have until the count of three to tell me who you are, in fullness and entirety. If it does not suit my needs, you will die."  
Shinji's hand went for the hilt of his katana.  
"One."  
The two warriors drew simultaneously. Asuka's sleeve slid up her arm for a moment, revealing a tattoo.  
"Two."  
"Shinji, wait!"  
Misato knew that tattoo. A staring eye set within a pyramid. It was the symbol of the Invisible Hand, the Enlightened Ones, as they called themselves. Her mind went back to the briefing...  
  
Gendo paced before her.  
"...Is currently on assignment to bring us it's second half."  
She had stood at attention in Gendo's office, businesslike, cool, and precise as she always was when NERV's balls were to the wall. She was the best when she absolutely needed to be.  
"You are to escort her to the coast and see her off."  
"Yes sir."  
"Keep an eye open for attacks."  
"Attacks, sir?"  
"Yes. We aren't as much a secret as we were."  
She frowned inwardly. That was very, very bad news. The exposure of NERV would be it's doom.  
"Who would attack us, then?"  
"A second group of equal, if not greater power."  
"Who?"  
"The Enlightened Ones."  
He proceeded to give her an extensive history on who and what that organization was.  
  
"Shinji!"  
She was too late.  
"Three!"  
Shinji charged and sliced. Asuka ducked beneath his attack. Shinji overbalanced, and Asuka loomed behind him. She pinched a nerve in his neck, and Misato's 'bodyguard' dropped to the ground in the manner of a sack of potatoes. She turned to face Misato.  
"You're an assassin."  
"Ah, so you are connected to them."  
"I do not know who you are talking about."  
The lies came mechanically.  
"I will cut your limbs off until nothing is left but your body. Then I will extract my answers! Is that how you want it?"  
Confidant against her unarmed foe, she began to circle.  
"You're a poor, ugly excuse for a woman."  
Asuka charged, infuriated. Misato sidestepped a forceful swipe, and kneed the girl in the solar plexus. Asuka bent over, wheezing. Misato brought her heel down on the girl's head, rendering her unconscious.  
"Kaji, dammit, you told me this was going to be easy..."  
She sat and waited for both the children to recover. Now they were involved. That second organization. But the fact that they were sending agents to Japan meant that Rei's mission was complete, success or failure. She bound Asuka's wrists. She would tell them everything they needed to know.  
  
"Now we need to hurry."  
"But can't she walk?"  
"No."  
Shinji struggled up the hillside, Misato leading.  
"Stop touching me there!"  
"It's not like I'm trying to!"  
"Yes you are! Men are all the same!"  
Asuka was slung over Shini's shoulders. He could barely walk, much less travel the 'long and difficult path' to NERV HQ. Misato stopped in an abandoned field.  
"O.K., we're here!" She said, almost in sing-song.  
"Misato, there's, ah, nothing here."  
"Of course there is! You just have to close your eyes and pretend!"  
"That makes no sense!"  
"Oh, be quiet for a minute and watch."  
Misato ripped a strip of cloth from her dress.  
"Sorry, but you can't be allowed to see this."  
"Bite me, NERV!"  
Misato bound the cloth tight around Asuka's eyes. She knelt and drew a letter on the ground. Then she stood and whispered...  
"God's in His heaven, all's right with the world."  
A vortex opened. Shinji jumped back.  
"Now we just step through the portal..."  
"But I could be burned alive, or messily killed, or all sorts of things!"  
"Vhat?!"  
Asuka began to kick.  
"What's going on? Put me down!"  
Misato hopped through the portal.  
"But... but..."  
"Oh, come on you big baby!"  
Misato's hand reached through the portal and yanked both the children inside. It closed soundlessly.  
  
"Sir!"  
Councilman Ikari was at his desk, as always. Outer Councilman Fyutski was standing behind and to his right. His office was enourmous, sitting in the central pyramid that formed NERV HQ. The office's windows showed the false horizon of the NERV Central cavern. Intricate designs, notes on sciences and magics beyond her understanding covered the walls.  
"Agent Katsuragi. Report." Ikari commanded.  
"Yes, sir. Mission went completely according to plan."  
"Adepts Suzuhara and Aida reported their assignment complete. Did you bring the objective?"  
"Yes, sir. He is currently waiting for my return to the recreational area."  
"Anything that did not fall in with our predictions?"  
"No, sir."  
"And interference from the Enlightened Ones?"  
"They sent an Agent. She was searching for Rei."  
"Rei?" Fyutskui whispered under his breath.  
"She told us her name was Asuka Langley Soryu."  
"Very well. Have you turned her over to the interrogation block?"  
"Yes sir."  
"Very well. Dismissed."  
"Yes sir."  
She bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.  
  
Gendo and Fyutski remained for a few minutes.  
"Rei has completed her mission."  
"Yes."  
"What about the Illuminati?"  
"They will be dealt with."  
"They're a variable."  
"Yes. The Council has a great dislike for those."  
  
To Be Continued... 


	3. OS3

NGE Old School, Chapter 3  
  
Clever songs can be saved for later, I suppose. (Damn. Someone's gonna' burn me for putting Hey Jude on chapter two. But I'm stubborn, so it stays.)  
Shinji looked around the room, afraid to touch anything. Machines and magicks hummed all about. Bright lights that couldn't be any candle or lamp, and hummed as though inhabited by demons. Demons, trying to escape. Confined and trapped in order to suit NERV's desires. Metal constructions surrounded him on three sides, covered in buttons and controls. What were they? Did they control all this? Were they watching him? A man had mentioned the 'magi'. Were these really wise men in some disguise? He'd seen a NERV member touch a button on one, and with a sudden noise that sent him running away screaming, a bag of, what had he called them? 'Chips' had been generated. Everything he'd seen since stepping through that portal was so alien... The clothing, the people, the words. It was almost as though they spoke in different dialects of Japanese than he'd learned. How could this place exist, much less thrive?  
  
'Through the desires of men.' he heard a dreary, feminine voice whisper.  
  
He jumped upwards.  
"What? Who's there?!"  
"It's only me."  
The woman's form resolved in the doorway.  
"Oh," Shinji sat down again. "Hello, Miss Misato."  
"Shinji, let's go for a walk.  
"Okay."  
Misato led him down a hallway and to an elevator. They stepped inside, and Shinji looked about. Misato pressed a button on it's controls, and he lurched to the side as it moved. He screamed, terrified. She held onto his shoulders to reassure him, and he righted himself, panting.  
"So, what are you going to do now?"  
"I... don't know."  
"Do you know what you were doing before?"  
"The same as everyone else, now. Struggling to survive."  
"We live in terrible times, Shinji."  
"Two months ago I heard a rape in an alley, and I ran away."  
"We can change that."  
"What?"  
"That's our mission, here. We're going to try to save the world from itself."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Why do you think I helped you, Shinji? Because it's my job."  
"Your job?"  
"We at NERV are going to try to save the world Shinji, from itself."  
"But, how?"  
"Through the High Council's strength."  
"Magic?"  
"Partly, but it only powers this place. Everything else was conceived by man."  
The elevator opened, and Shinji looked around.  
"Grass? Trees? Are we outside?"  
"No, Shinji."  
He stepped out and looked upwards. His jaw slackened in an expression of absolute awe.  
"This is the NERV Central cavern, a paradise created in Man's image. Everything you see here was built by us, with aid from magic and technology."  
Can you imagine the surprise of a child who had rarely seen civilization, who had never seen London, or Paris, or Kyoto, or Hong Kong, suddenly entering the Geo-Front? Lights, buildings, activity, all without the small-scale violence that is the norm in these times.  
  
She led him to a train and sat him inside. It left with a light lurch. Shinji expected these now, and kept better balance. Once they were underway, Misato leaned over towards him.  
"Shinji, We... I want you to stay with us."  
"What do you mean?"  
"We want you to live here, become one of us. Shinji, there was another reason that I brought you here."  
"I don't understand."  
"You are going to play a crucial role in NERV's plans. Our entire future may lie with you."  
"But, how?"  
"Not even I know that. It was prophecised by Councilman Ik- I mean, a Councilman."  
Shinji stared absently through a window.  
"I don't know..."  
  
Gendo did not move as he watched the two through a small vortex. His office was much the same as an average NGE fan remembers it, his clothes as well. Not to mention that aura of creepy that follows him everywhere. Fyutski entered, the door swinging closed behind him.  
"Councilman, Rei has returned."  
"Excellent. Send her in."  
"Sir." Fyutski bowed lightly and turned to leave.  
"And Fyutski?"  
The Outer Councilman stopped without removing his hand from the door's handle.  
"How is she?" Gendo asked.  
"Well enough to finish the project."  
Fyutski left.  
Gendo pushed the clutter on his desk into a slightly more ordered state, and assumed the pose that almost everyone associated with him: Slouched over, nose resting on the backs of his folded hands. The door opened slowly, timidly, as befitting Rei's mannerisms. She slipped in as soon as it would fit her frame. She shut it behind her.  
"Rei."  
"Hello, Councilman."  
"Are you well?"  
"Yes."  
He allowed himself a small smile.  
"Good. Did you retrieve the artifact?"  
"Yes."  
"And you hid it where I told you?"  
"Yes."  
"Was there any interference?"  
"No. Why would there be?"  
"Never mind. That is all, Rei. You may leave."  
"Yes. Good evening, sir."  
"Good evening, Rei."  
  
When she had gone, Gendo turned his chair and reopened the spy vortex, a minor trick of magic, more on the level of smoke and mirrors compared to some things the Councilmen were capable of. Everything was falling into place. Now he understood the Council's actions ten years ago. Now he understood why he had been brought into the fold, and how he would lead them from the shadows and into the light. Yet, Gendo felt no pride at his task. He was as much a tool to them as Rei.  
  
Or Eva.  
  
Sides of NERV not seen were hard at work: They had a perfect specimen! A sampling of knowledge concerning the X factor, the Illuminati!  
  
The Illuminati: A popular conspiracy theory concerning an organization formed around the time of the Crusades. Consisting of the world's richest: bankers, monarchs, diplomats, tycoons, and the like, the Illuminati influenced Europe with a feather touch and, shortly before WWI, the USA as well. Theoretically, they pull the UN's strings, and have always been the leading force behind the world. At this point in history, though, their influence has been confined to Europe, with agents operating across the known world.  
  
One such agent was in her cell, awaiting her captors. The panel slid open, and she raised her head to look.  
  
'NERV's High Council is composed of six members. Five are a ruling mind, the sixth an acting body. The identities of the five are as yet mysteries, but we have found their sixth's identity:  
Gendo Ikari.'  
Mr. Nine-Three-Two had shown her a drawing.  
  
It's likeness filled her view.  
"Is this her?"  
"Langley Soryu, Asuka. Yes, sir."  
"Very good. Stand, Asuka."  
Asuka didn't move. The guard hastily entered the cell and yanked her to her feet.   
"Listen when the concilman speaks!" He shouted.  
"Follow me." Gendo said, this time to the guard.  
They were led down a long series of hallways, too twisting and seemingly random for Asuka to remember. Eventually, though, they came to a thick oak door, guarded by two men in heavy armor. Gendo waved his hand, and one of the two pulled a lever, setting cogs in motion, weights falling, and ropes pulling. The door opened, revealing a wide table. Asuka thought it was almost like those used by the Church during trial. Wordlessly, Gendo took the empty seat, next to five figures. That made this...  
The NERV High Council of Six.  
"Asuka Langley Soryu..."  
"...You have been brought here..." a nasal, long-haired man started  
"...to tell us everything..." a gravelly-voiced man continued  
"...that you know." finished one wearing a visor, sitting in the rough center.  
Their goals were so specific, they finished each other's sentences. Asuka remained silent.  
"Begin by telling us the leadership of the Illuminati." The visored man continued.  
"I do not know."  
"Guard..."  
Gendo interrupted the torture order.  
"Mr. One, I find it plausible that the Illuminati would leave that on a need to know basis."  
"Silence, Ikari. Guard, you may begin."  
  
Misato opened the door to her room.  
"Welcome to your new home, Shinji."  
"I'm... Home."  
  
Gendo watched his son through another vortex. He set his sword on a folded blanket in his room and stretched out on the floor. He hummed a tune.  
That song! How could he remember? That was... Gendo thought back. That was...  
  
Fly me to the moon,  
And let me play upon the stars,  
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars,  
In other words...  
  
Laughter, sunlight, and joy. Shinji carried in a basket on her back...  
His son and...  
His wife.  
  
SEELE.  
  
They thought they had broken him.  
He would make them suffer.  
  
...In other words,  
Darling kiss me.  
  
Fill my heart with song,  
And let me sing forevermore,  
You are all I long for all I worship and adore,  
In other words,  
Please be true.  
In other words,  
I love you.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


	4. OS4: Angel Attack!

NGE Old School, Chapter 4: ANGEL ATTACK!  
  
I'd listen to the words he'd say But in his voice I heard decay The plastic face forced to portray All the insides left cold and gray There is a place that still remains It eats the fear it eats the pain The sweetest price he'll have to pay The day the whole world went away  
  
The boat pulled close to shore, sailing perfectly despite the high winds. A flash of lightning illuminated the sails. Dark clouds blotted out the sun, yet the ship was completely unaffected. It's image was... unsettling. The sails were tattered, the cannons rusted, holes had rotted in the decks. There was no crew. A lone figure stood on the deck. It landed against a sandy beach, a thick forest beginning only yards away, and the ramp lowered. The single figure descended to the ground, feeling the sand of Japan beneath his feet. The majority of his body was hidden by a heavy black cloak, the hood pulled up, shrouded around his white, bird-like mask. He raised one hand, the sleeve sliding up to reveal a black gloved hand, the sleeve of a black robe tucked into it. The ramp withdrew back into the ghostly ship, and it sailed into the night. He lowered his hands and lowered his head, concentrating deeply. He reached out, feeling for the energy of his brother and sister. Finding the thread of energy that bound them all together, he raised his head and began to walk. One thing not seen beneath his heavy clothing was a tattoo. It covered his wide, bony shoulders.  
  
Sachiél.  
  
He calmly entered the forest, beginning his search.  
  
Agent Misato Katsuragi stood at attention in Councilman Ikari's office. The lamps had been dimmed, and a chill made her shudder. Gendo watched her from across the floor, Fyutski behind him and to his right.  
  
"Agent Katsuragi, you have been brought here to discuss your next assignment. Are you familiar, with the Angels?" "Yes, sir." "We have received word that they have reappeared."  
  
"What?!" "I have dispatched Rei to deal with it. You are to escort her to the target." "Do you think that Rei is capable of destroying an Angel? Even with the Dragon?"  
  
"You are dimissed, Agent Katsuragi." Misato's face slackened.  
  
"Yes, sir." She repeated, this time with a bit less enthusiasm. Misato executed a crisp about-face and exited Gendo's office. He sat up again and opened a spy vortex.  
  
"Katsuragi." Ritsuko grabbed her attention as Misato exited the high- security zone. "Priestess Akagi. What's going on?" Misato began walking for the nearest elevator.  
  
"The Third Angel has been sighted outside Tokyo. Rei is waiting for you at the exit node. Where's Shinji?" "I sent him into Tokyo to run a few errands." "Bad idea, the Third Angel is entering Tokyo as we speak." "How was I supposed to know this would happen?" The elevator doors closed behind them. "Imperial soldiers have attempted to slow it's advance. They have proved ineffective."  
  
"The Meiji must be very scared."  
  
Ritsuko ignored Misato's random statement.  
  
"I suggest you escort Rei, and then contact Shinji. Your primary objective is to ensure Rei destroys the Angel. Your second primary is that she return to base alive. Are you clear, Agent?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The elevator stopped.  
  
"Get going."  
  
Shinji craned his neck to look around, carrying a basket of vegetables. The city seemed so alive, so full of bustle and action; street hawkers, Jesuits preaching Christian dogma, men with swords laughing over cups of sake. He almost smiled. He bumped shoulders with a boy. They stopped, and looked each other over. The other boy stiffened and tried to force a smile. He seemed very uneasy. He put his hands on his hips and shuffled away as fast as he could without drawing too much attention. Before he had gone, a wind blew his jacket back a bit, away from his flank. Shinji managed to catch a glimpse of a NERV tattoo.  
  
"Rei, have you been briefed?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Night had fallen Misato and Rei rode on horseback towards Tokyo, Rei's arms around the older woman's waist. They rode at a swift gallop, the wind wipping their hair about. Rei wore the same black ninja-wrapping as she had during her mission in Shanghai. Misato held a flintlock pistol in a crude silk holster across her shoulder. Together, they approached the part of the city the Angel had passed through.  
  
Or, at least, what was left of it. Misato pulled the horse to a halt to survey the scene.  
  
"My God..."  
  
The buildings on both sides of the street blazed uncontrollably. They cast off a heat that made Misato's face burn even standing a good distance away from it, where the city bordered the surrounding farmland. Corpses were strewn across the street. Men that held swords had been ripped apart. The body of a woman was missing it's head, still clutching a child whose neck bent in a sickening direction. No one had survived the wrath of the Third Angel.  
  
Then, a figure. A black silhouette, standing in the very center. A chill ran down Misato's spine. No human could stand the heat in the heart of those flames. His clothes should have burst into flame, he should be dying, screaming and furiously trying to put out his burning flesh.  
  
But he wasn't. He moved towards them, and seemed not so much to walk as to glide over the ground. The flames licked at his face, and as he emerged from the blinding glow around him, Misato saw the mask that he wore. "Rei, go!"  
  
Rei did not need any further orders. She flew from the back of the horse, dashing towards the angel. The Dragon dagger drawn and brought back, ready to strike. Misato watched, still on horseback. She met the angel. The Dragon struck...  
  
Rei stood behind the Third Angel. He had not moved. His cloak had been ripped open, and Misato could see the flesh of the Angel. Black, oozing, decaying, Sachiél's true body was that of a rotting corpse. Foul-smelling black fluid dripped from the wound Rei had inflicted. As Misato watched, the wound began to close up.  
  
"Incredible. It's regenerating itself."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Rei turned to face it again, ready to attack. She ran at it... Sachiél, not turning, raised a hand, and Rei met an invisible wall. Still facing Misato, he moved the hand forward, casting Rei through the air like a rag doll. She hit the ground and rolled to her feet, coming up in a three-point stance, the Dragon held behind the small of her back. She charged at him again. Sachiél pointed at the ground beneath her. It rose up in an explosion. Rei was cast through the air again. The explosion rose high, Misato could not even begin to guess how high, and formed a crucifix. She stared in awe. This time, Rei's landing was not so graceful. She flew towards Misato, landing at the feet of the horse. Her hand released the Dragon, the twin gemstones that formed it's eyes going dark. She looked up at Misato with the same expressionless eyes she always had. Then, she grit her teeth and winced with pain as she tried to get up. Sachiél began to move towards them.  
  
"Rei, don't!"  
  
Rei forced herself to a sitting position, her right arm limp and dangling. Misato could only think of one thing to do. She snatched her pistol out of it's holster and fired.  
  
The bullet hit Sachiél squarely in his bird-like mask. The mask shattered, but stayed firmly planted on his head. The light from the fire blotted out any glimpse of his face. Besides, Misato had seen his body. She had no desire to see what was beneath his mask. For his part, the Angel froze in his tracks, absolutely motionless.  
  
"They will have to withdraw." Fyutski said.  
  
"Agreed." Gendo spoke into open air, "Katsuragi, retrieve Rei and return to Central Dogma."  
  
'Yes, sir.' Misato thought, Gendo's words sounding in the back of her thoughts. She hated it when he did that. Any of the magicks he performed made her uneasy. She dismounted and snatched Rei up in her arms. The girl cried out in pain. "Ms. Misato!"  
  
She looked over her shoulder. Shinji was running towards them. "Shinji! Come on!"  
  
Misato set Rei on the saddle. The girl slumped forward onto the horse's mane.  
  
"But you can't fit three people on one horse!" As if on cue, a horse that most likely belonged to one of the bodies strewn about Sachiél's feet ran by, still with reins fit around it's nose, although there was no saddle. Misato grabbed these.  
  
"Hop on."  
  
Shinji looked a bit confused.  
  
"Get on, or I'll leave you here with him!"  
  
Misato jerked her head at the disabled Angel. Shinji didn't need to be told again. With some difficulty, he mounted the horse. They rode.  
  
"Misato, bring Shinji here."  
  
Misato exited the elevator, cradling Rei. She handed the injured girl off to a pair of techs. Shinji stood a little ways behind her, unsure of what to do. Misato clarified it for him. "Follow me, Shinji." He did. She led him to the entrance into Gendo's office.  
  
"What are we doing here?" "We're going to meet with the Councilman."  
  
"Councilman?"  
  
"Councilman Ikari."  
  
Shinji's eyes went wide.  
  
"I-I-Ikari?!"  
  
"Yes Shinji. Your father."  
  
"My father disappeared! He left me! He..."  
  
The doors opened. Misato strode in, and Shinji had no choice but to follow.  
  
"Agent Katsuragi, you have brought the spare."  
  
Misato snapped to attention.  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
Shinji stared across the floor at his father. Another man stood behind his father, one that Shinji was unfamiliar with.  
  
"Shinji."  
  
Shinji stepped forward.  
  
"Our first attempt at repelling the Angel failed. You will have to do it."  
  
"What?" Shinji finally lost his calm, after all this time.  
  
"What do you mean? Fight... fight that thing, back there? I can't do that! Why would you even..." "You can." Gendo interrupted.  
  
"But... the Dragon isn't enough of a weapon!" Misato countered. She thought.  
  
"Wait a minute... You're going to use Eva?!"  
  
Shinji now noticed that his father held something. A sword. Gendo lifted it up a few inches from his desk, and released it. It floated in the air, then towards Shinji. The sheath was purple, decked in gold. The hilt was one of the most ornate Shinji had ever seen.  
  
"A sword?" Shinji asked. He held out his hands, and it fell neatly into them. The butt of the hilt ended in a demonic face, two rubies inset as the eyes. They glowed with evil intentions for a moment, then dimmed again.  
  
"The Sword of Evangelion." "But... I can't fight that thing!"  
  
"You simply need to hold the sword. That's all we expect of you."  
  
"But... but... I can't!"  
  
The Sword of Evangelion dropped to the floor. Shinji's arms returned to his sides, his fingers opening and closing on nothing.  
  
"Very well then. Leave."  
  
"What?" "Rei will fight it again."  
  
Misato spoke up again.  
  
"Rei? But, she can't..."  
  
"She will. There is no other choice."  
  
Rei. Rei's eyes, looking at him for a brief moment. The pain she felt. She couldn't fight it.  
  
The Angel's mask finally reformed completely. He pointed at a nearby building. It exploded in a dazzling show of light, a crucifix forming from it's fiery center.  
  
The office rattled. The gemstones glowed again.  
  
"Misato. Fetch Rei."  
  
"But... sir,"  
  
"That's an order, Agent!" Gendo's voice rose. Misato straightened up.  
  
"Yes, sir." Her voice cracked with some hidden anger at Gendo for forcing the girl through this. She turned a crisp about face and...  
  
"I'll do it!"  
  
She stopped.  
  
"I'll fight it." Shinji knelt and lifted the sword. It seemed so light in his hands.  
  
"Agent Katsuragi, escort him to the target."  
  
Things are coming to a head. Deep within the Earth, Evangelion grows restless. 


	5. OS5

Disclaimer: 'The Day The Whole World Went Away' taken from Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile. I'm not really sure about the legal with that album. But it's not mine.  
  
Galloping hooves. Shinji screamed as he sat up, sweat running down his face, his hair matted down by it. His scream died after a moment, and he looked about the room he was in. It was dim, barring a single candle. He had been lying on a sleeping mat. He looked down at his body. He was alive. He was alive, and completely unharmed. He still wore the tattered remains of his samurai's fuku. Evangelion OS5: The Beast OR The Day The Whole World Went Away  
  
Clipclopclop clipclopclop.  
  
He walked to the hallway, candlelit as well. He looked for someone, anyone. The place seemed deserted.  
  
"Hello? Ms. Misato?" He padded down it a ways to a sliding panel. He reached for the small groove at the edge, but it flew open before he reached it.  
  
Shinji Ikari stared at his father.  
  
"Move." Gendo commanded.  
  
Shinji did this, unable to think of anything to say, flattening himself against a wall. Gendo strode past and into one of the other rooms. Shinji sighed and sank to the floor. An immeasurable amount of time passed. Then, he heard footsteps. They stopped at the doorway.  
  
"Shinji."  
  
Misato's voice.  
  
Flashback. "But what am I supposed to do?!" Clipclopclop clipclopclop. "Just kill it! The sword will guide you!" "I can't even protect myself! How am I supposed to destroy that... that thing?!"  
  
He had held on tightly to Misato as they rode through the night.  
  
"Shinji? Are you all right?" The boy was quiet. "Come on. It's time to go."  
  
The panel opened behind Gendo. He sat in a simple wooden chair, looking down on Rei's lithe form. Fyutski stepped into the room.  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"She won't be able to fight for some time." "A pity."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"The doctors say she has a broken arm and several fractured ribs, in addition to loss of blood and some concussions. Long term damage..."  
  
"Does not exist."  
  
"What?" "Rei heals well."  
  
Fyutski nodded and turned to leave.  
  
"Oh, yes, and Fyutski?"  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Don't ask such redundant questions."  
  
"Redundant?"  
  
"If you had talked to the doctors, you wouldn't have needed to ask me to gauge my reaction. Stop your little investigation of my feelings for Rei. It bothers me."  
  
Fyutski felt blood his face flushing crimson.  
  
"Yes sir." Once the panel had closed, Gendo leaned forward and removed his glasses. He sighed.  
  
"Yui..."  
  
Shinji shuffled down a street in Tokyo. The government had released that a fire had consumed a part of the city. As it was, things went on as usual. The existence of the Angels was still secret. He watched a street brawl.  
  
"Bah. Fighting you with both hands would be too easy. Tell you what, I'll beat you with one finger. That ought to even the odds."  
  
The Anthem. He had heard it as he fought Sachiél. It had filled his mind. He did not know it's name, but this noise, a pulse, a deafening, unnatural music, the same four tones, repeating, behind them a power, a strength, a fury like none he had ever known. Adrenaline had filled his veins when he heard it, he had gripped the sword tighter...  
  
FLASHBACK!  
  
"What are you waiting for? Fight him!"  
  
Shinji stood facing Sachiél as Tokyo burned around them. It looked at him as though he was of no significance. Shinji drew the Sword of Evangelion and swallowed. His palms were sweaty. Sachiél did not move, waiting for Shinji to do something. Anything. The sword hilt's ruby eyes glowed for a moment. Shinji roared with all the strength he could muster and charged at the Angel. Sachiél calmly pointed at Shinji's feet. The boy felt them yanked out from beneath him. He slammed into the dirt, his face grinding against loose stones and pebbles. His right cheek began to bleed from a nasty scrape. Voices joined the unearthly song, distorted in an inhuman, terrifying way. After his head cleared, he looked up. Sachiél loomed over him. The Anthem stopped, a sudden and dead silence.  
  
I'd listen to the words he'd say.  
  
He reached a black hand down and grabbed Shinji by his neck. Shinji was too petrified to scream. Still gripping the katana, it's sheath still buckled at his waist, he felt himself lifted from the ground.  
  
But in his voice I heard decay.  
  
A rock that had lodged itself in his bloody cheek dropped to the ground. Sachiél held the boy at arm's length with his right hand. His left placed itself against his chest. His heart. It was going to kill him!  
  
The plastic face forced to portray,  
  
Desperately, Shinji brought the sword back and struck. White light flared against his chest. Sachiél's mask filled his for a moment.  
  
All the insides left cold and gray.  
  
He was hurled across the street, into a burning building. He was dimly aware of a cry from Misato. He crashed through the doorframe, the wood softened by it's enflamed state. He hit the floor, embers landing on his face, his shoulder's burned where they had come into contact with the doorframe. The building creaked, a portion of it's structure compromised.  
  
There is a place that still remains.  
  
He groaned and opened his eyes. A burning plank fall towards him and hit his legs, pinning them beyond hope, even if he had had the strength to move them. The heat assaulted him from all sides, suffocating him. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He calmly began to die.  
  
It eats the fear it eats the pain.  
  
The world swam before Shinji's eyes.  
  
The sweetest price he'll have to pay.  
  
He coughed feebly and closed his eyes, the Sword of Evangelion still clutched in one hand.  
  
The day the whole world went away.  
  
Dimly, Shinji heard the faintest traces of the anthem, mere echoes of it's force. Outside Sachiél turned away. A support gave out on the house. "No, Shinji!" Misato screamed.  
  
The burning roof crashed on the unseen boy. Sachiél began to move towards Misato.  
  
The sword of Evangelion's ruby eyes began to glow.  
  
The unearthly song returned, in full force, this time a chorus of thousands singing behind it, giving it it's strength, their voices distorted in the same unearthly way as before. Shinji's eyes opened.  
  
Na na, na, na na, na na na...  
  
The burning wreckage exploded, a vortex forming at it's center. Standing at it's center was Shinji. Misato's eyes widened. He was hunched over, the burns across his body horrendous, his left arm hanging limply at his side, the shoulder torn from it's socket, only held by a few ligaments and some cauterized skin. His chest was dominated by a large hole over his heart. His eyes were wide, and glowed with the light of the pure will that coursed through his body. His mouth hung open, panting wildly, like one in a trance. Then, the wounds began to disappear. He stood up straighter, he held the sword firmer, and he raised the sword in a combat style worthy of a true samurai.  
  
For his part, Sachiél turned to face the newly risen opponent. Misato thought she sensed puzzlement at his reappearance. Shinji roared. It was no child's cry, as it had been before. Shinji roared with the force and power of a demon. He charged at Sachiél. The Angel raised his hand, stopping the demon, (Misato was sure, now, that Shinji was more demon than human by now) in his tracks. She could see the glowing aura of the telekinetic barrier, stopping Shinji's advance. He raised the Sword, and brought it down. The field was hacked in two. He charged at Sachiél again, the Sword held behind his hip in the manner that dictated a low-high slash. Sachiél floated to one side, Shinji's slice only catching a part of his robe. The Angel extended one hand, and the same light began to form there as the one that had sent Shinji hurtling some ninety feet. Shinji planted his feet and faced Sachiél just as he fired his lance. Shinji parried the beam intuitively, reflecting it towards the sky, where it continued onward out of Misato's view. Shinji cut in a left-right swing. Sachiél stepped backwards, but now received a slash across his chest. The Angel stumbled as the Sword met his flesh, nearly falling as he went further back, then dropping to one knee, a hand clutching the wound. Misato thought she saw steam rise from beneath his cloak. Shinji charged again, letting loose another roar, and brought the sword back to cut Sachiél from head to groin. He looked up at the charging Demon, breathing heavily behind his mask, sweat forming on his brow. Shinji brought the sword down.  
  
Sachiél's anthem crescendoed, growing louder with each passing moment.  
  
It met the Angel's mask and stopped for a moment, the plate becoming a final shield for it's wearer. Shinji raised the sword again and brought it down, again failing to break Sachiél's last defense. Shinji raised his sword once more, and looked at his defeated enemy. Sachiél, the Third Angel, knelt before him, illuminated by the fires of his own destruction, his black robes torn in several places, his foul ebony blood running free, his mask, an emotionless face of death and devastation, marred by two long scars across it's face. Then, Shinji lowered the Sword once more. Sachiél's mask shattered. The blade tore through the Angel with the force of all Hell behind it, ploughing through the Angel's flesh and bone. It cleaved the Angel, slicing a deep cut through it's head, it's chest, and stopping at the level of his waist as the strike's momentum died with it's target. Shinji removed the sword from the Angel's body and turned away. Sachiél fell forward and collapsed. Shinji flicked the sword, the Angel's blood flying off in a heavy mist, and moved to sheathe it. The ruby eyes shone as bright as the fiery city around him. Then, the Angel stirred. Shinji stopped and turned to face the potential threat, the Sword raised.  
  
The demonic song rose to deafening levels.  
  
Sachiél struggled and raised his upper body with his hands. He planted one foot. The shards of his mask lay scattered across the ground. The light, again, prevented either Shinji or Misato from seeing his face, whatever may be left of it. He raised himself fully, standing uneasily on both legs, his hands pressing against the twin wounds across his body. Ironically, together they made the sign of a cross. Sachiél broke into a stumbling run towards Shinji. Shinji, or whatever had possessed him, tensed, and poised to strike once more. He brought the sword back again, this time meaning to halve the Angel completely, when...  
  
The song ended as suddenly as it began, going from a pulse that filled your very mind to deadly silence.  
  
A crucifix rose into the sky. Misato shielded her eyes and dove from the horse. It panicked, galloping away into the night. Bits of flaming debris whistled past her as the force of the explosion leveled the burning area. The gigantic blast dissipated, and Misato raised her head to see how it had ended. It was strangely dark, the wind from the blast having extinguished all fire. She saw a single figure. In one hand, his fingers loosely held a sword.  
  
"Shinji!" She ran towards him. She was almost within arm's reach before he replied. "Ms. Misato?" He wavered on his feet, then fainted into her arms, the sword falling from his grip and clattering against the ground, it's eyes dark.  
  
"The power of Evangelion." Fyutski said.  
  
"Yes. Immense, to say the least." Replied Gendo.  
  
'And who would think,' Fyutski thought inwardly, 'That the one to wield the sword would be the son of it's creator.'  
  
To Be Continued 


End file.
